It’s been a long road for Brittney Griner.
The WNBA star, now 32,was detained in Russia on Feb. 17, 2022, for allegedly possessing cannabis oil in her luggage after arriving in Moscow from New York City.On Aug. 4, she was sentenced to nine years in prison following a weeks-long trial.
News broke on July 27that the Biden administration had offered a prisoner swap with Russia to secure the release of both Griner and American prisoner Paul Whelan, withsources telling CNNthat they had offered to return Viktor Bout, a Russian prisoner in the United States serving 25 years for arms trafficking.
On the morning of Dec. 8, 2022,Americans woke up to the surprise news of her releasein a one-for-onein a one-for-one prisoner swap with Bout. “She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances,“President Joe Biden said in remarksthat same day.
Here, a look back a Griner’s journey to freedom.
March 5, 2022: News of Brittney Griner’s Detainment Breaks
In the WNBA off-season, the Phoenix Mercury star plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian basketball team based in the city of Yekaterinburg that competes in the Russian Premier League and FIBA Europe’s EuroLeague Women.
PEOPLE reportedthat on Feb. 17, as she was on her way to join the team, Griner was stopped at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport after a customs dog indicated there were drugs in the player’s carry-on bag. After officers searched the bag and found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, Griner was taken into Russian custody and charged with smuggling “narcotic drugs” into the country, where marijuana is illegal.
Seven days after Griner’s arrest, Russia invade Ukraine, putting the country further at odds with the rest of the world.
March 7, 2022: Brittney Griner’s Wife Speaks Out
MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
March 8, 2022: Brittney Griner Is Seen for the First Time Since Her Arrest as Congress Works on Her Release
“I know the administration is working hard to try and get access to her and try to be helpful here. But obviously, it’s also happening in the context of really strained relations,” said Allred. “I do think that it’s really unusual that we’ve not been granted access to her from our embassy and our consular services.”
The House Foreign Affairs Committee member continued, “The Russian criminal justice system is very different than ours, very opaque. We don’t have a lot of insight into where she is in that process right now. But she’s been held for three weeks now, and that’s extremely concerning.”
March 17, 2022: Brittney Griner’s Detainment Is Extended
Russian state news agency TASSreportedthat Griner was ordered to remain in custody for an additional two months, according toCNNandNewsweek.
“The court granted the request of the investigation and extended the period of detention of the US citizen Griner until May 19,” the Russian court said, per the outlets.
NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images
March 23, 2022: U.S. Official Meets with Brittney Griner
One month after her detention, Griner met with a consular official who reported the athlete was doing “as well as can be expected,” according to U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price. “We’ll continue to work very closely with her legal team, with her broader network, to see to it that she is treated fairly and that her rights are respected.”
Days earlier,a source told PEOPLEthat Griner had been meeting with her Russian legal team “multiple times a week over the entire course of her detention.”
May 13, 2022: Brittney Griner’s Detainment Is Extended Again
Griner’s detainmentwas again extended in May, though her lawyer Alexander Boykov told AP that the change likely meant her case would be heading to trial soon. The athlete appeared at a hearing on May 13, keeping her face down choosing not to express “any complaints about the detention conditions,” Boykov told AP.
Around that same time, the U.S. State Department classified Griner’s arrest as wrongful detainment, meaning the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs would begin overseeing the situation.
According to the Associated Press, the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs will now oversee Griner’s case. That State Department office is focused on hostage release and the freeing of wrongfully detained Americans.
June 15, 2022: Brittney Griner’s Detainment Is Extended for a Third Time — and a Trial Date Is Set
ABC News reportedthat Griner’s detention was extended through July 2. Officials would be holding her longer at “the request of the investigation,” per a rep for the Khimki Court of the Moscow Region, according to TASS.
Two weeks later,Griner’s lawyer told theNew York Timesthe trial would start on July 1.
In the meantime, fellow athletes includingLeBron James,Megan Rapinoe,Stephen Curry,Charles BarkleyandSue Birdvoiced love and support for the star’s safe return, as theWNBA made her an honorary starterin the league’s all-star game and theHouse passed a bipartisan resolutionpushing Russia for her release.
Brittney Griner is escorted into the courtroom Tuesday.Evgenia Novozhenina/AP/Shutterstock
July 1, 2022: Brittney Griner’s Trial Begins
On day one of Griner’s trial, which began more than four months after she was first detained, officials accused her of moving a “significant amount” of cannabis oil, according to Russian media. Prosecutors also questioned the customs agents who searched Griner’s luggage.
On July 4, representatives for Griner released excerpts from a handwritten note she sent to President Joe Biden, pleading for her release.
“I’m terrified I might be here forever,” she wrote in part. “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore.”
“I missmy wife! I miss my family! I missmy teammates!” she continued. “It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”
As Griner’s wifecontinued to speak outaboutthe athlete’s “complete vulnerability"and her own"zero trust"in thegovernment’s abilityto get her home, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harriscalled Cherelleto “reassure her that [they] are working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible,” according to a statement from the White House. Biden also wrote a letter in reply to Griner.
July 7, 2022: Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty
On the second day of her trial,Grinerpleaded guilty tocharges of smuggling drugsinto Russia,NPR reported.
The WNBA star saidthat she did bring cannabis products into the country, but that she was packing quickly and did not mean to break the law, saying she did so “inadvertently.”
“I’d like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law,” Griner, who pointedly held up a photo of herself and her wife Cherelle as she walked into court, said,according to Reuters. “I’d like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare.”
“Brittney sets an example of being brave. She decided to take full responsibility for her actions as she knows that she is a role model for many people,” the statement continued.
In the U.S. that day, Griner’s wife Cherelle and the star’s Phoenix Mercury teammatesheld a “Bring BG Home” rallyat the WNBA team’s Footprint Center in Arizona.
Brittney Griner.YURI KOCHETKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
July 14, 2022: Brittney Griner’s Russian Basketball Teammates Testify on Her Behalf
At Griner’s third hearing, members of UMMC Yekaterinburgspoke highly of Griner’s contributions, according toThe New York Times. The director of the team, Maksim Ryabkov, testified to Griner’s “outstanding abilities as a player and personal contribution to the strengthening [of] the team’s spirit,” the basketball star’s lawyer told theTimes.
Along with Ryabkov, a team doctor and the team’s captain, Evgeniya Belyakova, also testified, with Belyakova telling the court that Griner is “the heart of our team,” according toNPR’s Charles Maynes.
July 15, 2022: Brittney Griner’s Lawyers Share Her Medical Records
Griner’s lawyerstold the courtthat she has a doctor’s note recommending she use cannabis as a pain treatment.
“The attending physician gave Brittney recommendations for the use of medical cannabis. The permission was issued on behalf of the Arizona Department of Health,” Griner’s lawyer Blagovolina said during Griner’s fourth hearing, theAssociated Pressreported.
The next week, on July 26, the court heard from a narcology expert,The New York Timesreported, per Griner’s lawyers, in an effort to explain that medical cannabis “is a popular treatment, specifically among athletes.”
However, Griner’s lawyer continued to say she “involuntarily” brought the cannabis in her suitcase.
As Griner sat in a cage within the courtroom, she spoke to ABC News and wished wife Cherelle, who graduated from law school in May, good luck on the bar exam.
Griner told ABC News that she is “waiting patiently” while in custody but has “no complaints.” During the hearing, she held up a sign that included a photograph of her and Cherelle.
July 27, 2022: Brittney Griner Speaks in Court
In another hearing,the WNBA star told the courtthat Russian officials did not read any rights to her when she wasarrested at the Moscow airport for possession of cannabis oil in February, according toThe Washington Post.
While Griner said a translator at the airport told her where to go, nobody explained to her what was happening, and she described the general translation services offered to her during her months-long detainment in Russia as “inadequate.”
“I remember one time there was a stack of papers that [the translator] needed to translate for me. He took a brief look and then said the exact words were, ‘Basically you are guilty,’ " Griner testified.
During her testimony, the WNBA star told the court via a translator that she was aware she was not allowed to bring cannabis oil into the country and said she still does not “understand how they ended up in her bag.”
“I had no intention to break the law,” she said, adding that she was stressed and rushed while packing and was recovering from a then-recent COVID-19 diagnosis that required her to take a test before getting on a plane.
Griner also testified that upon her arrest, she did not receive access to a lawyer and was made to sign documents without being told what they meant, according to theAssociated Press. Griner said that during a Feb. 19 hearing regarding her arrest, she received only a “cursory translation” of the allegations made against her, according to the AP.
Tim Clayton/Corbis/Getty; Ting Shen/Bloomberg/Getty
July 27, 2022: The Biden Administration Offers a ‘Substantial’ Deal to Russia in Exchange for Brittney Griner
Later on July 27,news brokethat the Biden administration offered a “substantial” deal to Russia to secure the release ofBrittney Grinerand Paul Whelan, another American prisoner, per Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Citing sources,CNNalso reported that the White House offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for a Russian prisoner in the United States, Viktor Bout, who was convicted for arms trafficking and is currently serving 25 years.
Blinken said that the White House had been in negotiations with Russia on the potential exchange for weeks, and that he intended to discuss the matter further on a call with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the coming days.
Aug. 4, 2022: Brittney Griner Is Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison
As her trial ended,Griner was sentenced to 9 yearsin a Russian prison, on charges of smuggling drugs into the country.
Griner’s lawyers said the verdict, just below the maximum sentence of 10 years, “absolutely unreasonable” and said they will “certainly file an appeal,“The New York Timesreported.
A Russian judge read Griner, 31, her verdict Thursday about an hourafter her lawyers and the prosecution presented their closing arguments. The Phoenix Mercury star had given an emotional speech, reiterating her stance that though she pled guilty to bringing less than 1 gram of cannabis oil into Russia,she did so “inadvertently"and asked the court for leniency.
“That’s why I pled guilty to my charges. I understand everything that’s been said against me, the charges that are against me and that is why I pled guilty but I had no intents to break any Russian laws,” Griner said, according to CNN.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, President Joe Biden said the ruling was “unacceptable.”
Aug. 15, 2022: Brittney Griner’s Lawyers Appeal Prison Sentence
The WNBA star’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, confirmed to PEOPLE on Aug. 15 that they hadappealed the verdictsentencing Griner tonine years in a Russian penal colony, issued on Aug. 4.
While the team didn’t know if the appeal would be successful, Blagovolina previously told PEOPLE, she said they had to try.
“We need to use every legal opportunity that we have, and appeal is one of these opportunities,” Blagovolina said.
Griner’s other lawyer, Alexander Boykov, explained that the process will also take several months: “It’s not very fast.”
Oct. 25, 2022: Brittney Griner Loses Appeal to Reduce Prison Sentence
Just over one month after Griner’s lawyers confirmed to PEOPLE that an appeal had been filed against the nine-year prison sentence, news broke thatthe appeal had been denied.
Despite her attorneys arguing against her lengthy sentence in front of a three-judge appeal panel, a Russian court upheld the decision. Griner also participated in the appeal proceedings via video.
Griner’s lawyers confirmed that she had been moved to IK-2 female penal colony in Yavas, a small town about seven hours from Moscow, in the Mordovia region.
“Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment,” her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, said in a statement shared with PEOPLE at the time.
Former prisoners and human rights activists said the particular penal colony where she was placed wasnotorious for its brutal treatment of female inmates.
Ivan Melnikov, the Russian representative of the European Committee of Human Rights, told PEOPLE at the time that he was surprised that of all the 36 women colonies in Russia, Griner was sent to Moldavia. “No [convicts] want to be sent there. It is not a good place.”
Dec. 8, 2022: Brittney Griner Is Released and Returned Home
After spending nearly 10 months in Russian custody, Griner wasreleased in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, CBS News reported, citing a U.S. official.
“Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home,” Bidentweetedthe morning of the announcement alongside photographs of himself, Vice President Kamala Harris and Griner’s wife, Cherelle.
source: people.com
